Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov Receive Athletic Commission Justice

Hey, remember when Khabib Nurmagomedov mauled Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in Las Vegas, NV, then jumped the cage and into the audience to fight his friend? Well, that leap into the crowd cost the Dagestani wrestler and lightweight champ half a million bucks. This is according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who today meted out some justice on both Nurmagomedov and McGregor.

For his part in the fracas (which was what? Defending himself against Khabib’s pals?), McGregor was fined a mere $50,000.

Both were suspended for six months, but retroactively, so they can fight again in April.

Here’s MMAFighting on Khabib:

On Tuesday’s meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission, a five-member committee voted in favor of a settlement agreement that will see Nurmagomedov receive a nine-month suspension and a $500,000 fine for his involvement in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. The suspension can be reduced by up to three months pending Nurmagomedov’s participation in an anti-bullying public service announcement that must be approved by the NAC.

Nurmagomedov’s suspension will be retroactive to Oct. 6, 2018, meaning Nurmagomedov could be eligible to compete again on April 6, 2019 should the suspension be reduced.

The fine will be paid from a portion of Nurmagomedov’s purse that is currently being withheld by the NAC. Nurmagomedov was set to make a guaranteed $2,000,000 for his UFC 229 bout in addition to pay-per-view bonuses.

Here’s MMAFighting on McGregor:

Although McGregor’s pre-fight rhetoric was not relevant to Tuesday’s hearing, NAC executive director Bob Bennett highlighted that the commission needs to rein in some of the language used by fighters, describing some of the pre-fight trash talk as “unacceptable”.

“It’s gotten to the point with some of the unarmed combatants where it’s become totally unacceptable. There are not any other athletes, as far as I’m aware of, that have spoke at press conferences in the way that Mr. McGregor has. Although we have no precedence for it, I think it’s something that we should look to in the future and we should rein it in,” said Bennett at Tuesday’s hearing.

Oh yeah, and Khabib’s buddies who took part in the melee got fines plus year-long suspensions. Because screw them.

Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov were both issued one-year suspensions and $25,000 fines at a Tuesday meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov both served as cornermen for UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his UFC 229 title defense against Conor McGregor, which Khabib won via fourth-round submission on Oct. 6, 2018 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov — the cousin of Khabib — were caught on video playing a role in the heated post-fight melee that spilled out of the cage following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s victory.